Seating.



PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908. H. S. HALE & J. B. KILBURN.

SEATING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

on 0 T N E V m ATTORNEY.

PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908. H. S. HALE & J. B. KILBURN SEATING. APPLICATION FILED JULY 5 1907. z sums-sum 2.

ATTORNEY 1 positions formerly occupie cushions, so that all four cushions he in sub- UNITED STATES PATENT. onrion.

HENRY S. HALE AND JOHN B.-KILBURN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS' TO THE HALE AND KILBURN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENN- SYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SEATING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

' Application filed July 5, 1907. Serial No. 882,185.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY JOHN B. KILBURN, citizens of the United States, residin at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Seating, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to seating for'railway cars and has reference more particularly to seating for sleeping-cars constructed so as to constitutea seat extending transversely of the car for use in the daytime and to form In seating for this use as the back-cushions to permit moving them from substantially vertical ositions to the by the seatstantially the same plane to constitute the bed. As thus constructed, the bed has not possessed the softness and resiliency neces-' sary to make it comfortable for the reason that the seat-cushions have had to be made with a firm surface since they support substantially the entire weight of the occupant of the seat during the daytime.

Our invention aims to overcome this objectionable characteristic and, in accordance therewith, we make the back-cushions of the shifting the back-cushions of two adjacent seats facing each other from the normal or vertical positions to positions in which they lie between the two seat-cushions and in substantially the same plane therewith.

We have illustrated one embodiment of our invention in the accompanying drawings,

in which S. HALE and of arranged to form a bed; Fig. 2 is an elevaf tion of one of the seats, showing the cushions as arranged for use in the daytime; Fig. 3 is .a

longitudinal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective. view, showing one of the sets of levers; Fig. 5 is an elevation of one of the supporting plates; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Flg. 2; and Fig. 7 is asection on line 7'7 of Fig. 1. j

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate two adjacentseats facing each other, each having a seat-cushion 3 and a back-cushion 4. A seat-frame 5 sup orts each of the seats at the aisle end thereo and the opposite end may be similarly su ported or may be supported upon the wall of the car.

Mounted on the frame or other support at each end of each of the seats, is a support 6, shown in Figs. 5 and 6, having portions 7 lying adjacent and secured by means of screws to the frame 5, integral portions 8 above the ortions 7 formed to provide a-narrow space etween them and the frame, and a flanged portion!) at the upper edge, this flanged portion 9 lyin in a horizontal plane and having a rib' 1O ormed integral therewith on its u per face. On the portion 8, at the center 0 the support, is a stud 11 forming a' ivot upon which is mounted a lever 12. his lever extends lengthwise of the support 6 and is adapted to rockupon the pivot 1 1 in the narrow space between the portions 8 and the frame at the end of the seat. Pivotally connected to. the forward and rear ends of the-lever 12,'are two levers. 13 and 14 respectively, the opposite ends of which are ivotally connected to the ends of an anguar cushion-su port 15, to which one end of the back-cushlon 4 is detachably connected, as by means of studs and keyhole slots. This cushion-support is shown in detail in Fig. 7 from which it will be seen that the backcushion 41has a plate 16 secured to the bottom thereof, in which are cut slots adapted to receive the studs 17 on the cushion-support 15.

.The seat-cushion 3 preferably consists of a metallic frame 18, supporting spiral springs 19, over which the covering 20 ofthe cushion is drawn, this covering being secured at its edges to the frame in any suitable manner.

- upon the upwar ly inclined ends of the sup Secured to the bottom of the seatcushion,

adjacent to each end thereof, is a metallicstrip 21, pressed to provide a longitudinal groove therein adapted to receive the rib 10 on the support 6. At its forward end, each of the supports 6, including the flange 9 and rib 10, is turned upwardly at a slight angle to the horizontal, as shown at 22, Fig. 2, so that when the seat-cushion 3 bears upon the outer ends of the supports 6 atits forward edge and upon the horizontal portions of the supports 6 at its rearward edge, it will lie at a slight incline to the horizontal, this position being most conducive to thecomfort of the occupant of the seat.

In order to synchronize the movementof each of the back-cushions 4 at the two ends thereof, the lever systems consisting of the levers 12, 13 and 14 at opposite ends of each back may be connected so as to operate together.v This is preferably done by cuttin away the su ports 6 opposite the forward ends of the levers 12, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, and securing the two levers 13 at opposite ends of the seat upon the ends of a rod 23 which extends the full length of the seat and near its ends passes through openings in the forward ends of the two levers 12. The usual movable head-rolls 24 may be provided above the back-cushions 4. As thus constructed, when the seating is to be arranged for day use, the parts' are brou ht to the positions illustrated in Fig. 2, the acks being in substantially vertical planes at the rearward edges of the seat-cushions and supported by the levers 13 and 14. Each seatcushion 3 is at a slight incline to the horizontal, it being sup orted at its forward edge orts 6 and backward movement thereof eing prevented by the lower edge of. the back-cushion 4.

If it is desired to form a bed from the four cushions of the two seats, the back-cushion 4 of each seat is drawn outwardly and swun around upon the two levers 13 and 14 unt further movement is prevented by the en gagement of levers 13 with the flanges joining the portions 7 and 8 at the forward ends of the su ports 6. During this movement of the bac cushion, the seat cushion 3 is moved rearwardly from the position shown This effected, as the cushion rides down the inc ined portions of supports 6 at their outer ends guided by the ribs 10. When these movements have' been com leted, the cushions 3 of the four cushions.

and 4 lie in substantially the same plane, with their edges close together, and form, with the cushions of the adjacent seat which have been similarly shifted, a bed consistin The bed thus forme has the two seat-cushions at its ends and the two back-cushions forming the middle portion of the bed, and the back-cushions can be so constructed that their surfaces are quite soft and resilient enough to make the bed comfortable, for the reason that when the structure is used as a'seat, these cushions sustain but a small proportion of the weight.

To shift the cushions back to their original positions in order to form two seats, the backcushions 4 are raised and turned u on the pivots of the levers 13 and 14, the inc ination of the backs being varied by these levers as they turn, until' the backs are in the vertical positions again. By sup orting each pair of evers 13 and 14 upon a ever 12-adapted to rock about a central pivot, the edge of the cushion 4 adjacent to the cushion 3 can be raised a short distance in a plane closely a proaching the vertical so that though tie edges of the cushions 3 and 4 are close together when the cushions are in the same horizontal plane, the edge of the cushion 4 will clear that of the cushion 3 in transforming the structure 'into a seatagain. With the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 1, the forward ends of the levers 6 are elevated to the extent ermitted by the coaction of the rear ends of the levers with the walls of sup ports 6 joining the portions7 and 8 at the rear ends of the supports. When the movement of cushion 4 to shift it back to the vertical position is begun, the levers 12 are rocked on their pivots so that the connected ends of the levers 12 and 13 and the rod 23 are depressed, and this operates both to raise and to move outwardly of the seat the pivots of the lower ends of levers 14. Cushion 4 is thus-moved outwardly a short distance and when swinging around, turns about a pivot of lever 14 which is somewhat elevated, these changes in the relation of the parts being quite sufli cient to permit the edge of cushion 4 to clear the edge of cushion 3.

This construction possesses the further advantage that the seats are more comfortable than those heretofore used for this purpose, as the seat-cushions are arran ed at the inclination to the horizontal which as been found most conducive to comfort. In the car-seats as heretofore constructed capable of being converted into beds, the seat-cushions have been sup orted in a horizontal lane when used in t e seats so that they can e drawn toward each other in this plane movin the two seat-cushions with all four of the cushions in substantially the same plane, substantially as described.

2. The combination of two adjacent seats facing each other and each having a seatcushion and a back-cushion, and means for supporting the two back-cushions between the two seat-cushions' with the adjacent edges of the back-cushions close together and the non-adjacent edges thereof c1ose,to the adjacent edges of the two seat-cushions and with the yielding surfaces of the four cushions lying in a single plane, substantially as described. j

3. The combination of two adjacent seats facing each other and each having a seatcushion and a back-cushion, and means for the two. back-cushions from substantia ly vertical positions to positions in zontal and means for supporting all four ofsaid cushions in a horizontal plane with said back cushions between said seat-cushions,

substantially as described. a

5. The combination of two adjacent seats facing each other and each having a substantially vertical back-cushion and a seat-cushion disposed at an incline to the horizontal,

. means for supporting said seat-cushions in a horizontal plane, and means for moving the two back-cushions to positions in which they are horizontally-disposed between the two seat-cushions, substantially as described.

-6. The combination of two seats facing each other and each having a seat-cushion and a backcushion, and apair of levers for sup orting each end of each of-said backcus ions, said levers being'adapted to move said back-cushions from positions in which they are substantially vertically disposed to positions in which they are horizontally disposed between the two seat-cushions, substantially as described.

. 7. A seat having a seat-cushion and a back-cushion provided with ayielding surface and levers for supporting the back-cushion and moving it from a position in which it is substantially vertically disposed at one edge of the seat-cushion with said yielding surface facing the other edge to a position in which it is horizontally disposed at the op 0- site edge of the seat-cushion with said y1e ding surface upward, substantially as described.

8. A seat having a seat-cushion and a back-cushion provided with a ielding surface and a pair of levers pivota y connected to each end of the back-cushion for moving it from a position in which it is vertically disposed at one ed e of the seat-cushion with said yielding sur ace facing the other edge to a position in which it is horizontally disposed at the o posite edge of the seat-cushion with saidyie ding surface upward, substantially as described. I

9. A seat having a seat-cushion and a back-cushion rovided with a yielding surface, a pair of levers pivotally connected to each end of the back-cushion for moving it from a position in which it 'is vertically disposed at one edge of the seat-cushion with said yielding surface facing the other edge, to a position in which it is horizontally disposed at the op osite edge of the seat-cushion with said yie ding surface upward, and means for synchronizing the movement of the levers at the op osite ends of the back-cushion, substantra ly as described.

10. A seat having a seat-cushion and a back-cushion having a yielding surface, and

means for supporting the back-cushion in the same plane with the seat-cushion and closely adjacent to one edge thereof with said yieldingsurface u ward and in a osition in which it 1s vertica y disposed at t e o osite edge of the seat-cushion with said yiefding surface facing said first-named edge, substantially as described.

11. A-seat having a seat-cushion and a back-cushion, a pivotally mounted lever, and back-supporting levers each pivotally connected at one end to said lever and at its other end to said back-cushion, substantially as described.

12. A seat having a seat-cushion and-a back-cushion, a pivotally mounted lever, back-supporting levers pivotall connected at one end to the ends of said ever and at their ofpposite ends to said back-cushion, and stops or arresting movement of said levers when the back-cushion is in substantially the ,same plane as the seat-cushion, substantially as described.

13. A seat having a frame, a seat-cushion and a back-cushion, a lever and two backsupportin levers each pivotall connected atone en to said lever and at t e other end to said back-cushion, said lever being pivote upon the frame intermediate the points :of connection of said back-supporting levers, substantially as described.

14. The combination of two adjacent seats facing each other and each having a vertically disposed back-cushion and a seatcushion supported at an incline to the horizontal, and means for sup orting the four cushions in substantially t e same plane with the back-cushions between the seat-cushions, substantially as described.

15. The combination of two adjacent seats facing each other and each having a seatcushion and a back-cushion and nieens for This specification signed and witnessed moving the two back-cushions from substanthis 20th day of June 1907. tially Vertical positions to positions in which HENRY S. HALE.

they are horizontally disposed between the I JOHN B. KILBURN. 5- two seat-cushions with the four cushions lying Witnesses:

in substantially a single plane, substantially R. M. FRIES,

as described. I P. J. TUCKER. 

